The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) revealed that inflation in Colombia closed February 2024 at 1.09%, marking a significant decrease and consolidating eleven consecutive months of decline.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, February 2024 inflation represented a decrease of 0.57%. In addition, the year-to-date variation, which includes January and February 2024, closed at 2.01%, reducing by 1.46% compared to the previous year. While the annual variation, from February 2023 to February 2024, was 7.74%, which represents a decrease of 5.54 percentage points compared to the previous year.
The monthly behavior of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February 2024 was mainly attributed to the variation in the Education and Accommodation divisions, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. The greatest variations were observed in Education (8.74%) and Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (1.13%).
Regarding the contributions to the monthly variation, preschool and primary basic education, rent and meals in table service and self-service establishments stood out. On the other hand, eggs, bananas and potatoes had the smallest contributions.
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The Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, took advantage of these results to request the Bank of the Republic to reduce the intervention rate, with the aim of maintaining the downward trend in inflation and stimulating the economy.
The closing of the current year was mainly explained by the variation in the Accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and Transportation divisions. The Education division recorded the greatest variation, followed by Transportation, while Recreation and Culture had a negative variation.
Regarding the annual variation, the Accommodation, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, and Transportation divisions were the main responsible. Transportation recorded the highest annual variation, followed by Education, while Information and Communication showed the lowest variation.
These data reflect a constantly changing economic landscape, with the government and economic authorities working to maintain the country’s stability and sustainable growth.
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